“Wan… Wan.”
Shen Ji tried to shake Shen Wan a few times, but seeing her remain unresponsive, he instantly panicked.
Hadn’t she been fine just a moment ago?
‘Where exactly did things go wrong?’
No, the most important thing right now was to call a doctor.
Having been so unfortunate in his past life, he could not lose the last family member he had in this world.
Shen Ji took half a step toward the door, shouting, “Doc—tor!”
Before he could finish the word, he suddenly thought of the man in the white coat who had just left the room.
Recalling those clouded eyes, the image of another doctor with similarly clouded pupils surfaced in his mind.
It was Doctor Bai, the man who had invited him to join the Midnight Society.
But why was he here?
Shen Ji gritted his teeth, a prominent vein bulging on his clenched fists.
He didn’t care why the man was here.
If anything happened to Shen Wan, then don’t force his hand…
“Brother!”
A crisp cry pulled Shen Ji back to reality.
He turned around to see that Shen Wan had sat up at some point.
Shen Wan had her arms crossed over her chest, looking at Shen Ji with a mischievous grin.
She winked playfully and said, “Little Ji, did I scare you?”
Shen Ji didn’t care for the joke at all.
With a dark expression, he placed his hands on her shoulders and asked in a low voice, “Did the doctor who just came in do anything to you?”
A flash of panic flickered in Shen Wan’s eyes, but she forced a smile and said, “Brother, what are you talking about?”
“I am not joking with you!”
Shen Ji practically roared.
Startled, Shen Wan shrank back.
This was the first time she had seen Shen Ji like this.
“I… I don’t know.”
The grip on her shoulders tightened involuntarily.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“You’re hurting me.”
Shen Wan twisted her body to shrug off his hands.
Tears shimmered in her aggrieved eyes, threatening to fall.
Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, the anger that had rushed to Shen Ji’s head vanished instantly.
He could only stammer, “Wan, it’s… it’s my fault. But I… I was worried about you.”
Shen Wan sniffled and touched a medicine bottle hidden under the mattress.
With a slight sob in her voice, she said, “He just walked into the wrong room.”
“Don’t… don’t cry.”
Shen Wan turned her back to him, suppressing the grievance in her heart.
“I’m not crying. My eyes just need to pee.”
Shen Ji reached out, wanting to turn her around so he could wipe away her tears, but she didn’t give him the chance.
Whenever his hand touched her, she would wiggle away, refusing to let him touch her in the slightest.
Seeing this, Shen Ji had no choice but to give up.
He sat dejectedly by the edge of the bed, his hands hanging limp.
He hadn’t wanted it to be like this, but that man in the white coat really was suspicious.
Even if he wasn’t Doctor Bai, why would he walk into the wrong room for no reason?
The small hospital room fell silent, save for the sound of Shen Wan’s sobbing.
It felt like a knife to Shen Ji’s heart.
He felt utterly helpless, wanting to explain everything to her.
But could he really explain it?
Just as Shen Ji was feeling discouraged, a series of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway.
“Knock, knock, knock~ Look what I have!”
Ye Xi appeared, holding a stick of cotton candy in each hand, breaking the deathly silence of the room.
Shen Ji’s mouth hung open in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
Ye Xi’led her lips in dissatisfaction.
“Why can’t I be here? I’m your girlfriend, after all.”
“Sob, Sister-in-law, my brother is bullying me.”
At some point, Shen Wan had turned back around and looked up at Ye Xi.
Ye Xi walked quickly to her side and handed her a cotton candy.
“Don’t cry, Wan. Your Sister-in-law will teach him a lesson for you,” she said softly.
As she spoke, Ye Xi shook her pink fist in the air.
Shen Ji’s face was a map of confusion.
“Wait, have you two met before?”
Shen Wan licked the cotton candy stuck to her lip and said nonchalantly, “No. But she’s so pretty and she knows I like cotton candy. Who else could she be but my Sister-in-law?”
Shen Ji’s face darkened.
“I really don’t know who you learned this fence-sitter attitude from.”
“Who else could it be but you, my big brother?”
Shen Wan added in a low voice, “Exactly, exactly.”
Fine, today these two drama queens had truly joined forces.
However, what worried Shen Ji more was that Shen Wan was not a member of the Blood Race.
Even if her weak aura could hide the truth from Ye Xi, knowing Ye Xi’s personality, she might impulsively try to offer her blood again.
For now, he could only use the same excuse he had given Liu Yao to deal with Ye Xi.
“Ye Xi, come out for a second. I need to talk to you.”
Shen Wan immediately grabbed Ye Xi’s arm.
“No, I want my Sister-in-law to stay with me.”
Shen Ji looked at Shen Wan with a complicated expression.
‘What are you even holding onto? That’s a member of the Blood Race who drinks blood!’
“Wan, stop messing around.”
Shen Wan said huffily, “I haven’t said I’ve forgiven you yet. You’d better not provoke me right now, Little Ji.”
Ye Xi burst into laughter.
“Did you hear that, Little Ji? Don’t you dare provoke our Wan.”
‘Your Wan? Then who am I? An outsider?’
Shen Ji was so frustrated he stood there speechlessly.
Keenly sensing the change in his mood, Ye Xi held out her cotton candy.
“Here, this is for you.”
“That’s for kids. I’m not eating it.”
Ye Xi pulled Shen Ji down to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Do I have to feed it to you myself?”
Shen Wan covered her face and squealed, “I ship it! I totally ship it!”
Seeing no suitable opportunity to talk, Shen Ji temporarily abandoned the idea of smoothing over his lies.
He said petulantly, “Fine, even eating can’t shut your mouth.”
The arrival of Ye Xi completely transformed the gloomy atmosphere of the room.
She sat beside Shen Wan, constantly sharing embarrassing stories about Shen Ji, making the girl double over with laughter.
Shen Ji’s brow, however, was more furrowed than ever.
He never imagined that Ye Xi had started paying attention to him so long ago.
She could even recall details of events that he himself had forgotten.
He glanced sideways at the girl who was usually the cold and arrogant Ye Great School Beauty.
At some point, she had begun to drop her “keep-away” persona only when she was with him.
‘Is it because her acting is just that good? Or is this who she really is?’
For the first time, Shen Ji’s heart wavered regarding Ye Xi.
It seemed she truly cared for him and looked out for his best interests.
Just then, Shen Wan let out a yawn and said groggily, “Sister-in-law, Brother, I think I’m a little sleepy.”
Shen Ji smoothed the corners of her blanket and gently patted her head.
“Alright. Brother will come back to see you when you wake up.”
“I don’t want you. I want my Sister-in-law.”
Ye Xi was slightly taken aback.
She didn’t understand why Shen Wan, who had been fine a second ago, suddenly needed to sleep, but she still replied, “Okay, I’ll come stay with you next time.”
Once Shen Wan closed her eyes, the two of them quietly slipped out of the room.
Shen Ji explained, “Wan has been like this since she got sick. The doctor said it’s the body’s way of repairing itself, so…”
Ye Xi nodded slowly in realization.
—
In the hospital room where Shen Wan was now alone, she waited until the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.
She slowly pulled a medicine bottle from beneath the bed.
Printed clearly on the label were the words: Type 1030 [Modified].
The young girl’s face was etched with determination, but hot tears could not hide the sorrow in her heart.
She murmured in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Brother. I don’t want to be a burden to you anymore.”
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